Method of producing linoleum products



reb. 16, 1943. F. w. GANs 2,311,044

METHOD OF PRODUCING LINOLEUM PRODUCTS' Original Filed March 8, 1941 q vIMI/ENTOR.

FRED W. G-A N5.

yexpensive floor coverings. Aleum is applied to certain typesofvbacking, such Patented Feb. 16, 1943 METHOD OF PRODUCING LINOLEUMPRODUCTS Fred W. Gans, Trenton, N. J., assignor to lSloane- Blabcn,Trenton, N. J.,

Jersey Original application 382,444. Divided and this application ber 4,19411, Serial No. 409,454

16 Claims.

My invention relates to methods of producing linoleum products such asfloor coverings, Wall coverings and the like and is a division of mycopending application Serial No. 382,444, filed March 8, 1941.

i Heretofore in the production of linoleum products it has been usual toapply vthe linoleum to a backing in the form of a number of individualpieces, tesserae or design elements which may rvary considerably in sizeand shape.k Generally also the design is repeated at regularintervals,say every eighteen inches, throughout they length o the materialalthough these design sections may be displaced relative to each otherto avoid the appearance of av recurring design. The pieces or tesseraeof linoleum whichv are used to make up the design are uncured whenapplied to' the backing and are easily torn or mutilated Whenhandled.This is particularly true when they are made relatively thin for use inthe production of in- Moreover, when linoas felt base material there isa tendency fork the design elements to'spring vaway from the backing orto separate from each other along the edges if the product is rolled orbent ata sharp angle.

In the manufacture of floorV coverings andthe `likeheretofore thepiecesof linoleum used to Ymake up the design have been assembled either byhand or by machine butthehand operation is slow and intermittent whereasmachines for use in assembling the individual design elements are veryexpensive and they cannot readily be changed from one design to another.

I have discovered that these objections to present types of linoleum oorcoverings and methods of producing the same can be overcome and superiorproducts can be produced by providing the uncured linoleum designelements, before they are applied to a backing, with a reinforc 4inglayer of material which strengthens the ele' ments so that they willwithstand handling to better advantage. Preferably also the reinforcingmaterial Aused is in the form of a sheet or web to which a number ofdesign elements are secured so that they are held -rmly in place duringthe subsequent operations of applying the elements to a backing. By theuse of such reinforcing means it is possible to form units with a numberof design elements preassembled thereon into de sign sections which areeighteen inches in width or of other widths corresponding to the'widthof the design repetitions in the finished product. The design sectionsthus formed may be produced as a continuous- Web and then be cutgintounits;

a ,corporationl of New` March 8, `1941, Serialk No.

Septem- (cl. 154-26) i 1 A particular advantage inherent in equal inlengthto the Width of the finished product. The 'units in turn can beassembled quickly and easily on a suitable backing of coated burlap,Saturated felt or other material to form a-nished floor or wallcovering. vvFurthermore, the composite intermediateproduct consisting ofthe reinforcing material with design sectionsI thereon can be inspectedfor imperfections' andany vdefective 'portionscanbe removedbeforejthelinol'eum is applied ,to the backing. A perfect finished product istherefore obtained and waste dueto loss ofthe backing and the productionoffshort rolls or pieces is eliminated. g v y j By means of the presentinvention the design elements may be assembled by hand on a continuouslymoving web of reinforcingy means or relatively inexpensive mechanism maybe used in assembling the elements to vform the sections of the design.The speed of assembly of the design velements is thus increased overtheusual intermittent operation while the cost lofkproducing products,even with the most intricatedesigns thereon, is materially'reduced.Moreover, the designmay be 'changed from time to time without 'characterand may be in thefor-m of lopen mesh fabric or may be a continuoussheet'of paper, linoleum, felt or other material. In some instances thedesign elementsy are permanently secured to the reinforcing material andthe reiniorcing material embodied in the finished product so as tobecome a part thereof. However, in accordanceV with certain modied formsof the invention the reinforcing material is stripped from the ydesignelements after they have been securedv to the backing.

Y those forms of the present invention in which the reinforcing materialis embodied in the nished product reother at the edges or to spring awayfromr the zbacking whenthe material is bent, is greatlyre duced or liseliminated v-altogether.,A Some `forms ofi the present invention arealso of advantage in that the'nished product althoughapparently smoothVand attractive: in appearancepossesses almost imperceptibleirregularities which impart definite non-skid characteristicsLtothe-finished product. .M'Ilhe principal objects of my invention aretoreduce the cost and increase the `speed of production of linoleum floorcoverings and the like and to produce a superior finished product.

Another object of my invention is to provide preassembled unitsembodying a plurality of design elements adapted to be secured to alayer of backing material.

A further object of my invention is to provide a linoleum product inwhich the tendency for the elements of the design to separate from eachother or from the backing on bending of the product is materiallyreduced or eliminated.

Another object of my invention is to provide an intermediate product foruse in the production of floor coverings and comprising uncured linoleumsecured to a layer of reinforcing material.

Another object of my invention is to reduce losses due to defects infinished linoleum products and to avoid the production of short rolls orpieces of linoleum products.

A further object of my invention is to provide a novel type of linoleumproduct having nonskid properties.

These and other objects and features of my invention will appear fromthe following description thereof in which reference is made to thefigures of the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective of a portion of one type of product embodying myinvention with parts thereof removed to illustrate the construction moreclearly,

Fig. 2 is a perspective of an alternative type of material embodying myinvention,

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view through a further alternative formof product embodying my invention,

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion of the product illustrate-d inFig. 3,

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional View through another type of productembodying my invention,

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic illustration of one type of means adapted foruse in producing an intermediate product embodying my invention, and

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic illustration of. a typical means for producinga finished product embodying my invention.

The product illustrated in Fig. 1 comprises a number of design elementsindicated at 2, 4, 6, 8 and I0 applied to a web of reinforcing materialI2 which may be of any desired size, but preferably is approximately 18inches in width or of other width corresponding to the design sectionsin the finished product to be produced. The reinforcing material mayconsist of a layer ofV linoleum, paper, fabric, or any other suitableneX- ible material. One typical and preferred type of reinforcingmaterial illustrated in Fig. 1 consists of foraminous material such asnetting, cheesel cloth, light wire screen, or other open mesh fabric I2which presents a greater area of open spaces than of fabric. Nettinghaving from about 4 to 36 threads to the inch may be used, but ingeneral, I prefer to employ netting having from.v

about 8 to 16 threads to the inch. Usually when employing a light openfabric as a reinforcing material it also is found desirable to applysizing, such as starch, to the fabric to give it sufficient stiffness topermit ready handling of the fabric and to avoid stretching ordistortion of the reinforcing layer. However the fabric may be subjectedto a uniformly small tension to hold it even and smooth while avoidingsuch stretching as would cause the material to buckle when Aio thetension is relieved or produce distortion of the design elements appliedthereto.

The pieces or tesserae of uncured linoleum which serve as the designelements are arranged on the layer of reinforcing material and securedthereto in any desired manner as by pressing the assembled elementsagainst the surface of the reinforcing material so as to bond theelements thereto and when fibrous or foraminous reinforcing material isused the fibers or threads become at least partially embedded'in thedesign elements. The resulting composite product embodying a pluralityof design elements and preferably having a complete section of thedesign thereon is secured to a layer of backing material I4 bysubjecting the product to heat and pressureor by any other suitablemeans.

As shown in Fig. 2 the reinforcing material may be in the form of acontinuous sheet of material I6. I have used paper, uncured linoleum anda thin sheet of saturated felt as the reinforcing layer in such productsbut various other sheeted products may be used to advantage and securedto the backing I4 by means of heat and pressure or by the application ofan adhesive to the backing or to the lower surface of the reinforcingmaterial or to both.

In vthe constructions illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 the design elements2, 4, 6, 8 and II) are applied to the upper surface of the reinforcingmaterial and are held together thereby so that they may be handledeasily without danger of tearing the elements or causing them to becomedisplaced with respect to each other. Moreover in applying the designelements to the backing material I4 the layer of reinforcing material I2or I6 is placed against the backing material and thus incorporated inthe finished product so that it strengthens the finished product andincreases its tear resisting properties. However, one of the mostimportant advantages in the use of the reinforcing material resides inits action in holding the design elements together at the edges and inholding them firmly in contact with the .backing material when theproduct is bent.

In that form vof my invention illustrated in Fig 3 the reinforcingmaterial indicated at I8 is located on the upper surface of the designelements so that in forming the finished product the elements I0, 4'and6 are brought directly into contact with the backing I4 throughout thesurface thereof insuring a firm bond between the elements and backingitself. At the same time the reinforcing material serves to hold theelements in place so that they may be handled easily and Withoutmutilation or relative displacement in applying the elements to thebacking.

This reinforcing material may be formed of waxed paper, cellulose sheet,fabric or other suitable material and when in the form of a continuoussheet it is subsequently stripped from the upper surface of the product.

When the lreinforcing material used is in the form of open mesh fabricit may, if desired, remain embedded in the upper surface of the designelements in the nished product as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The linoleummaterial 20 between the threads or filaments 22 of the reinforcingmaterial presents the greater area of the wearing surface of thematerial and the reinforcing material is pressed into the linoleum. Asshown in the enlarged section of Fig. 4 the filaments 22 may be soembedded in the linoleum as to be substantially flush with the linoleummaterial and present a substantiallv smooth unbroken surface vas shownin the section'24. However, the filaments may be so embedded as toproject a very slight distance above the intervening linoleum as shownin the section 26 or they may be depressed below the linoleum materialas shown in the section 28 of Fig. 4. The extent to which thereinforcing material is exnbedded in the linoleum will depend upon thecharacteristics of the filaments and linoleum and the manner and degreeof pressing to which the intermediate and final products are subjectedduring the operations of securing the reinforcing material and designelements together and in securing the composite intermediate product tothe backing.

In any event, when the reinforcing material remains embodied in theupper portion of the iinished product the surface of the productpossesses minute and almost imperceptible irregularities or acquiressuch irregularities during use so that while it presents a smoothattractive surface which may be waxed or Varnished to produce a highgloss thereon it nevertheless has marked anti-skid characteristics whichprevent dangerous slipping of persons or objects thereon. Moreover thereinforcing material if colored or formed of metal such aslight wirescreen is exposed irregularly and to a slight extent and gives thefinished product an attractive mottled appearance which modifies butdoes not obscure the design itself,

As shown in Fig. the reinforcing material may be stripped from the uppersurface of the design elements after they have been secured to thebacking material so that the finished product embodies no reinforcingmaterial whatever. However, the accuracy with which the design elementsare arranged and the speed and economy of manufacture are greatlyincreased and the operations simplified. Moreover, as shown in Fig. 5the product may be given desirable nonskid properties by the use of openfabric as a reinforcing material, since when stripped from the uppersurface of the design elements the almost imperceptible depressions 30,formed by the threads of the reinforcing material, remain in the surfaceof the linoleum material- While these depressions are nearly obliteratedand may be completely removed by pressing the material after thereinforcing web has been removed they are of advantage in producing anon-skid surface on the finished linoleum product.

The design elements may be assembledl on the backing either manually orby machine and in Fig. 6 I have illustrated diagrammatically a typicalarrangement of mechanism for use in the practice of my invention. Inthis construction a roll 35 of reinforcing material, such as sizedcheese cloth eighteen inches in width, is passed beneath a tensioningroll 38 which places the material under a small but uniform tens1on. Theweb of material then passes to machines or the operators each of whomplaces one or more of the design elements 43, 42 and 44 on thereinforcing material until the web of reinforcing material is coveredthereby. At the station A for example the first operator or a machinesuch as that shown diagrammatically at 52 in Fig. 7 and of the typedescribed and claimed in my copending application Serial No. 384,241,filed March 20, 1941, places the elements 4i! on the reinforcingmaterial. The material carrying the elements 4l) then passes on to themachine or operator at station B where the elements 42 are placed on'thereinforcingr material and' at staat least partially obliterates semblyof the units.

posed face of the design elements.

tion C the elements 44 are placed on the reinforcing material thuscompletely covering the same. During this operation the reinforcingmaterial is continuously held under uniform light tension to avoid anystretching or distortion thereof which might produce buckling or strainsin the intermediate or finished product when the tension is released.

The material with the design elements thereon is passed beneath a rotarypress 4S which serves to bond the design elements to the reinforcingmaterial. After passing through the press 46, the resulting compositeintermediate product is trimmed accurately to width by rotary knives 41or other suitable cutting means and is inspected so that any defectiveportions may be removed. The web is then cut transversely into units ofany desired length as indicated by the lines 48. By inspection of thecomposite intermediate product it is possible to eliminate thoseimperfect portions which would make it necessary to cut the finishedproduct into short pieces or produce irregular rolls and there is noloss of backing material resulting lfrom irregularities in the designelements. f

The units of the intermediate product .may vbe nine feet in length or ofany other suitable length as desired. When the intermediate product isllaid so as to extend longitudinally of the web of backing material itneed not be cut into special lengths and can run directly from the press46 and cutter 41 of Fig. 6 onto the web of backing material. However, itis ordinarily preferable to arrange the units so that they extend acrossthe backing from side to side thereof. It is therefore usual to cut theintermediate product into lengths or units corresponding to thel widthof the finished product to be produced so that each ,unit embodies onesection of the design. The units 48 are assembled in edge to edgecontact on a layer of backing material either manually or otherwise asdesired and the accurately cut edges of the units insure proper as- Asillustrated in Fig. 7 this maybe accomplished by feeding a web ofbacking material 5S, such as coated burlap or saturated felt past asuitable machine 52 which may be of the type illustra-ted and describedin said copending application Serial No. 384,241.

It is preferable to displace the units 48 with respect to each other onthe backing material to avoid the appearance of a recurring design.Thus, as shown in Fig. 7, the unit 48a is similar to the unit 48h butdisplaced withrespect thereto. Moreover, as shown at 48E certain of theunits may be turned end for end to further vary -the design while usingsimilar design sections. So far as I am aware no one heretofore has everproduced design variations in linoleum products by turning sections ofthe design end for end and yet this is easily accomplished by means ofthe present invention.

The assembled units carried by the backing material are then passedthrough a press 54 which serves to secure the units to the backingmaterial. When forming the product of Fig. 5 the reinforcing material 36is strippedfrom the upper surface of the design elements after they havebeen secured to the backing and the product is passed beneath anotherpress 55 which further bonds the elements to the backing and thedepressions formed by the reinforcing material in the ex- If thecomposite intermediate product extends in strips 1onvgitudinally of theweb the operation of stripping the reinforcing material from the uppersurface thereof requires only the receiving roll and the stripping bar58. However, if the intermediate product is applied in units extendingtransversely f the web it is necessary to employ means which are appliedover the reinforcing material to connect together the transverselyextending pieces of reinforcing material on adjacent units and therebystrip the reinforcing material from the finished product in a continuousoperation. As shown in Fig. '7 strips of tape t0 may be appliedlongitudinally of the joints between the units and transversely of theweb so as to connect the pieces of reinforcing material togetherthroughout the length thereof. In the alternative strips E2 may may beapplied longitudinally of the web by taping rolls 64 to connect thepieces of reinforcing materials at the ends only or both the strips 6i)and S2 may be employed so that i the reinforcing material may be removedfrom the upper face of the material after pressing thereof to bond theunits to the backing.

In this way the operation of assembling the design elements and securingthem to the backing material to produce a finished product may becarried on as a continuous operation and the resulting finished productis of a superior quality due to the fact that the design elements arestrengthened and cannot spring away from the backing material orseparate at their edges when the product is iieXed or bent at a sharpangle. Furthermore, because of the strength of the intermediate productthe gauge or thickness of the linoleum material itself may beconsiderably less than that heretofore capable of use in practicaloperations.

In that form of my invention illustrated in Figs. 3, 4 and 5 the designelements are either assembled on a conveyor and the reinforcing materialapplied to the upper surface thereof or they are assembled on thereinforcing material and the resulting intermediate product is invertedto place the design elements in contact with the backing.

While I have illustrated and described preferred embodiments of myinvention and preferred method of operation in accordance therewith itWill be apparent that the composite intermediate product and the unitsmay be produced in any desired manner and that the reinforcing materialused may be of any suitable character adapted for convenient handlingand for adequate bonding to the backing material. Moreover, the type ofbacking material employed may be of any desired or suitable characterand the methods of assembling the units on the backing and of producinga non-skid effect on the exposed surface of the finished product as Wellas other features of my invention are capable of many modifications andchanges without departing from the spirit and teachings of my invention.

In view thereof, it should be understood that the embodiments of myinvention herein described and shown in the drawing are intended to beillustrative of my invention and are not intended to limit the scopethereof.

I claim:

1. A method of producing linoleum products which comprises the steps ofsecuring uncured linoleum to a web of reinforcing material, severingsaid web into lengths and thereafter securing the resultant lengths ofcomposite product in parallel relation to a layer of backing material.

2. A method of producing linoleum products which comprises the steps ofsecuring a plurality of design elements formed of uncured linoleum in apredetermined arrangement to a web of reinforcing material, severingsaid web into lengths and thereafter securing the resultant lengths ofcomposite product in parallel relation to a layer of backing materialwith the reinforcing material adjacent the backing.

3. A method of producing linoleum products which comprises the steps ofarranging a plurality of design elements formed of uncured linoleum on aweb of reinforcing material, subjecting the elements and reinforcingmaterial to pressure to bond the same together, severing said web intolengths and thereafter securing the resultant lengths of compositeproduct in parallel relation to a layer of backing material.

4. A method of producing linoleum products which comprises the steps ofsecuring uncured linoleum to a reinforcing material formed of open meshfabric presenting a greater area of spaces than of fabric, andthereafter securing the resultant composite product to a layer ofbacking material.

5. A method of producing linoleum products which comprises the steps ofsecuring uncured linoleum to a reinforcing material formed of open meshfabric presenting a greater area of spaces than of fabric and thereaftersecuring the resultant composite product to a web of coated burlap withthe fabric adjacent the burlap.

6. A method of producing linoleum products which comprises the steps ofsecuring uncured `linoleum to a reinforcing material formed of open meshfabric presenting a greater area of spaces than of fabric and thereaftersecuring the resultant composite product to a web of saturated felt withthe fabric adjacent the saturated felt.

'7. A method of producing linoleum products which comprises the steps ofsecuring a plurality of elements formed of uncured linoleum to a web ofreinforcing material in predetermined relation, cutting the resultantweb of composite product into lengths and securing said lengths inparallel relation to a layer of backing material.

8. A method of producing linoleum products which comprises the steps ofsecuring a plurality of design elements formed of uncuredlinoleum in apredetermined arrangement to a web of reinforcing material which isapproximately eighteen inches in width, severing the resultant compositeproducts into units which are approximately equal in length to the Widthof the finished product to be produced and securing said units to alayer of backing material transversely to the length of the backing andin edge to edge contact to produce a finished product.

9. A method of producing lino-leum products having a design thereonwhich is repeated at predetermined intervals lengthwise of the product,comprising the steps of moving a Web of reinforcing material which isapproximately equal in width to the width of said design repetitionsalong a support past successive stations, depositing design elementsformed of uncured linoleum on said Web of reinforcing material at saidstations to substantially cover the web, securing the assembled elementsto said reinforcing material, severing the resulting composite producttransversely of the web into units and securing said units to a layer ofbacking material.

10. A method of producing linoleum products having a design thereonwhich is repeated at predetermined intervals lengthwise of the product,comprising the steps of moving a web of reinforc ing material which isapproximately equal in Width to the Width of said design repetitionsalong a support past successive stations, depositing design elementsformed of uncured linoleum on said web of reinforcing material at saidstations to substantially cover the web, securing the assembled elementsto said reinforcing material, severing the resulting composite producttransversely of the web into units approximately equal in length to thewidth of the finished product to be produced, and securing said units toa layer of backing material transversely to the length of said layer andin edge to edge contact.

11. A method of producing linoleum products having a design thereonWhich is repeated at predetermined intervals lengthwise of the product,comprising the steps of moving a web of reinforcing material which isapproximately equal in Width to the Width of said designrepetitionsalong a support past successive stations, depositing design elementsformed of uncured linoleum on said web of reinforcing material at saidstations to substantially cover the web, securing the assembled elementsto said reinforcing material, severing the resulting composite producttransversely of the web into units approximately equal in length to thewidth of the finished product to be produced, and securing said units toa layer of backing material transversely to the length of said layer andin edge to edge contact but with the design elements thereon relativelydisplaced to destroy the appearance of a recurring design.

12. A method of producing linoleum products which comprises the steps ofat least partially embedding foraminous reinforcing material in uncuredlinoleum and securing the resulting composite intermediate product to abacking.

13. A method of producing linoleum products which comprises the steps ofat least partially embedding foraminous reinforcing material in uncuredlinoleum and securing the resulting composite intermediate product to abacking with the reinforcing material located adjacent the backing.

14. A method of producing linoleum products which comprises the steps ofat least partially embedding foraminous reinforcing material in uncuredlinoleum and thereafter securing the resulting composite intermediateproduct to a backing with the reinforcing material located adjacent theexposed face of the linoleum material.

15. A method of producing linoleum products which comprises the steps ofsecuring a web of reinforcing material to the surface of uncuredlinoleum, thereafter securing the resulting composite intermediateproduct to a backing with the reinforcing material located on theexposed face of the linoleum material and stripping the reinforcingmaterial from the linoleum material.

16. A method of producing linoleum products which comprises the steps ofat least partially embedding foraminous reinforcing material in uncuredlinoleum, thereafter securing the resulting composite intermediateproduct to a backing with the reinforcing material located adjacent theexposed face of the linoleum material, stripping-the reinforcingmaterial from the linoleum material and thereafter pressing the finishedproduct to at least partially obliterate the marks formed in the exposedsurface of the. linoleum material by the reinforcing material.

FRED W. GANS.

